https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=George_BoltGeorge Bolt - Revision history2026-06-06T08:37:17ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=George_Bolt&diff=162357&oldid=previmported>InternetArchiveBot: Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.52025-08-18T02:33:53Z<p>Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|New Zealand aviator}}<br />
{{about|the aviator|the New Zealand civil servant|George T. Bolt|the Australian rules footballer|George Bolt (footballer)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}<br />
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{{Infobox person<br />
| name = George Bruce Bolt<br />
| image = George Bolt.jpg<br />
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|OBE}}<br />
| alt = <br />
| caption = George Bolt, 1943<br />
| birth_name = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1893|5|24|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Dunedin]]<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1963|07|27|1893|5|24|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = [[Auckland]], New Zealand<br />
| burial_place = [[Purewa Cemetery]], [[Meadowbank, New Zealand|Meadowbank]], Auckland<br />
| nationality = <br />
| other_names = <br />
| occupation = <br />
| years_active = <br />
| known_for = <br />
| notable_works = <br />
| awards = [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''George Bruce Bolt''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|OBE}} (24 May 1893 – 27 July 1963) was a pioneering [[New Zealand]] [[aviation|aviator]].<br />
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==Biography==<br />
Bolt was born in [[Dunedin]] in 1893.<ref name=DNZBBolt>{{DNZB|title=Bolt, George Bruce |first= R.L. |last= Williams |id=4b44 |accessdate=23 April 2013}}</ref> He formed the Canterbury Aero Club in 1910, helping to make and fly gliders on the [[Cashmere, New Zealand|Cashmere]] Hills. He used these to take aerial photographs in 1912.<br />
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In 1916 Bolt was hired by pioneer pilot [[Vivian Walsh (aviator)|Vivian Walsh]] as a mechanic at the [[Walsh Brothers Flying School]] at [[Kohimarama]]. He learnt to fly the brothers' [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company|Curtiss]] flying boats and the machines of their own design, including the Walsh brothers Type D, as well as the two [[Boeing Model 1|Boeing and Westervelt]] [[floatplanes]] which were the first machines made by that company. <br />
[[Image:Walsh Brothers Type D.JPG|thumb|Walsh Brothers type D flying boat]]<br />
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In 1919 he flew New Zealand's first [[air mail]] and established an altitude record of {{convert|6500|ft|m}}.<ref name=CAiNZ>Rendel, David (1975) ''Civil Aviation in New Zealand: An Illustrated History''. Wellington. A.H. & A.W. Reed. {{ISBN|0-589-00905-2}}</ref><ref name=AA>{{Cite web |url=http://www.auckland-airport.co.nz/Community/aviators.php?avid=bolt |title=Auckland Airport: Biography of George B. Bolt |access-date=7 October 2008 |archive-date=17 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017191854/https://www.auckland-airport.co.nz/Community/aviators.php?avid=bolt |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1921 he flew from [[Auckland]] to [[Wellington]] in 5 hours and 16 minutes with stops at [[Kawhia]] and [[Wanganui]] with [[Vivian Walsh (aviator)|Leo Walsh]] as passenger.<ref name=CAiNZ/><br />
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He was a [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] (RNZAF) and [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) pilot during [[World War II]], and Chief Engineer of [[Tasman Empire Airways Limited]] (TEAL), now known as [[Air New Zealand]], from 1944 to 1960, where his experience with the [[Short Sandringham]] led him to play a role in the development of the [[Short Solent]].<br />
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Several streets and aviation related facilities in various New Zealand cities are named after him, including George Bolt Memorial Drive, the main access road to [[Auckland International Airport]].<br />
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Bolt performed initial research into the achievements of aviation pioneer and inventor [[Richard Pearse]] during the late 1950s and early 1960s.<br />
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In the [[1953 Coronation Honours (New Zealand)|1953 Coronation Honours]], Bolt was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]], for services to aviation.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=39866 |date=1 June 1953 |page=3004 |supp=4}}</ref> His son [[Richard Bolt (RNZAF officer)|Richard Bolt]] also served in the RNZAF and rose to the rank of [[air marshal]].<br />
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Bolt died in Auckland in 1963.<ref name=DNZBBolt/> He was buried at [[Purewa Cemetery]] in the Auckland suburb of [[Meadowbank, New Zealand|Meadowbank]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Notable graves |url=https://www.purewa.co.nz/notable-graves/ |publisher=Purewa Trust Board |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307203554/https://purewa.co.nz/notable-graves/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />
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==Further reading==<br />
*{{cite book |last=Harvie |first=Edgar Francis |title=George Bolt, Pioneer Aviator: Foundations of a Future |publisher=A.H. & A.W. Reed |location=Wellington |date=1974 |url= |isbn=9780589008239}}<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolt, George}}<br />
[[Category:1893 births]]<br />
[[Category:1963 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:New Zealand World War II pilots]]<br />
[[Category:New Zealand aviation pioneers]]<br />
[[Category:New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Engineers from Dunedin]]<br />
[[Category:New Zealand aviation record holders]]<br />
[[Category:Burials at Purewa Cemetery]]</div>imported>InternetArchiveBot